Prós
Fender has some great people. There are a lot of passionate people who love creating music and have a love for the brand. There used to be a ton of tenured employees who had been with the company for 10+ years, but not nearly as many anymore. Company tries to create fun events throughout the year (summer bbq, periodic small performances on sit etc).
Contras
Management has deemed Los Angeles is the place to be, so they're making the marketing department move. Apparently, marketing has to move to be closer to the artists. Coincidentally, most of the new executive team lives in LA. This has caused major rifts throughout Fender, and we are going to lose a lot of great people and experience. This is really a calculated move to reduce headcount since management knows most people won't move. Needless to say, marketing is a mess and the vI've extends to the rest of the company. Other departments are hit or miss. The executive team has set an extremely lofty goal for the next 3 years financially which doesn't seem reasonable, especially with taking on a new LA office and new LA salaries. Fender had banked on the fact that you're working for a cool company and that people are passionate about the brand. To put it bluntly, compensation sucks. No bonus structure for below director level, and basee salaries are below par. I recently receiced a job offer for 30% more, so I'll be moving on from the company. Fender also has a lot of brand equity, but doesn't seem to use it appropriately. There is an air around the office that Fender is too good to do more charity and support more events, concerts and self promotion.